


maybe in another universe (it could have been perfect)

by lenardo_09



Series: Cryptage Week - 2020 [3]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lenardo_09/pseuds/lenardo_09
Summary: Tae Joon always wondered if his life was always destined to be full of pain, and maybe there was one of himself who could be happy with the man he loved without the pain and strife.Maybe there was a Tae Joon Park who had an early happy ending.
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: Cryptage Week - 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943077
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	maybe in another universe (it could have been perfect)

**Author's Note:**

> Late on this one, but, hey, better late than never!

Tae Joon Park had been framed for killing one of the only people he could call family. He was forced into hiding, forced to run and run and  _ run.  _ He was tired—so tired. His life was ruined—no going back to the life of an innocent man who had a future ahead of him. 

Elliott Witt had lost everyone he knew and loved. He couldn't protect them, lost to a war he wished he had fought all alone—if it just meant his family could live together again in peace, together, unbroken by a cruel fate. He was losing his mother to an ailment nothing could cure, the woman slowly forgetting the only son she still had. 

Imperfect were their lives. They were lost in torrents of agony, a storm that had no end. There were no rainbows nor blossoming flowers over fields of green, no blue skies and puffy white clouds. They were trapped in an endless cycle of agony and despair, eternal in suffering. 

Elliott moved to where Park had been stationed. The hacker looked up wordlessly, paranoia spiking with the man coming so close. 

He hands a screwdriver over. 

“Looked like you needed one, little kid.”

The nickname stuck, Park noted, and he takes the screwdriver, synthetic skin brushing against Elliott's warm,  _ real _ skin. 

“I did. Thank you.”

The trickster nods, moves away, and gives him space in the workshop. He has his own gear to work on. 

—;;

Elliott noticed a computer engineer working on something for his mom. His mom mentioned his name—“Tae Joon” or something—and Elliott can't deny he's charming—in a weird, nerdy way. 

The two look like they're working something out together, tinkering away with Evelyn’s holo-technology and elaborate coding on the computer monitor. His mom didn't usually ask for people's help with this type of stuff, but he recalls her mentioning a big project that required more than a few hands. 

Elliott hummed, catching Park’s attention, and he smiles when he sees him. 

Eyes widen behind tinted spectacles, cheeks coloring pink, and he moves to focus on what Evelyn was explaining. 

_ Cute.  _

—;;

Elliott has seen competitors break down after their first game. He's seen them have meltdowns after particularly rough matches. What he hasn't seen is Park having a complete breakdown after a match, having just gotten out into an area where, presumably, no one was. Elliott was, however. 

The man was huddled away in an alley, shaking and sobbing. He was muttering “I didn't want this” quietly, over and over, and the trickster—well, he wasn't about to leave him there alone. 

He just sat beside him once he proved not to be a threat, managed to get the other to let him hold him, and sat there for a bit, just gently rocking the other back and forth. 

It started raining a little while after. Elliott tried keeping them dry, but, once the trickster managed to get Park to his own home, they were soaked. Elliott got them both changed into dry clothes, and the hacker slept on the couch. He looked strangely peaceful in such a vulnerable state, something uncommon for someone like him. 

Elliott felt like he was given a gift of trust, and he wouldn't dream of breaking it. 

—;;

It took a few weeks before Elliott and Park began working together, Evelyn asking the two to oversee a part of the project she was a bit too busy to work on. The two picked up their tools and got to work. 

Elliott kept bumping his shoulder against Park’s. The technician couldn't tell if the man was doing it on purpose or if it was an accident. He didn't say anything until Elliott did. 

“You're pretty smart, y'know?”

He looked up towards the engineer, whose expression was one of happiness and fascination. Park shrugged, smiling with a bit of nervousness. 

“You're rather intelligent yourself.”

“I only know basic coding, and it's not much. You're  _ really _ good at it.”

“Ah—”

“Accept my compliment, nerd.”

There was a snort. “Calling me smart and a nerd? Should I still say thank you?”

“Depends.”

“… On what?”

“Depends.”

Park rolled his eyes, trying to suppress the laughter escaping him. Elliott was certainly strange, and he found himself all the more interested because of that. 

—;;

Elliott learned of everything about Hyeon Kim, just as everyone else had, but it was far before the entire organization was formed in order to take down the Syndicate. He learned during a night of pounding rain and thunder, when the two retreated to Elliott’s home together to hide away. It was after heated kisses and tender exploration of new bodies, breaths mingled and fingers grasping one another. 

The story of Tae Joon Park was a tragic one, and Elliott nearly combusted with the realization he was standing in the presence of someone against the entire world, no one on his side. But it changed that night, a whispered promise that he'd be by his side through it all. He was to be there during every dark, cruel moment the two encountered, whether it be something wrought upon by their own bloodstained hands or something of another. 

They were intertwined now, futures set on a single path that led to the same end. They weren't alone anymore, broken souls finding shelter from the storm outside in one another’s warmth. 

And there they rested, eyes shut, as they leaned against the other. 

—;;

Their first date went rather well, Park noted. Elliott kept talking enough that it kept away from any awkward silences. They had a lot in common as well, and Park was surprised at that much. It was… nice for a first date. 

It was almost perfect, actually. 

Aside from the waitress spilling Elliott’s drink on the table. 

They agreed to go out another day—next week. 

He was excited. 

When they meet again next week, Park shares his first kiss with Elliott Witt. 

—;;

The aftermath was quiet. Park was staring at a dreary street, clouds beginning to part and sun finally bleeding out and giving color to grey streets. 

The hacker lets out a breath, a dour look in his expression. There had been strife and pain to get here, and he wondered, faintly, if it had been worth it. He didn't know how everything would be now. He had once known everything, and now…

Renee came out to stand beside him, arms crossed over her chest. She looked… tired, much like everyone else. But there was a certain peace in her eyes, no longer a ghostly white, no more danger being screamed into her mind. 

“You’re up early.” Her voice was quiet, almost like she was afraid to disturb the peace. 

“I was thinking.”

“You're always thinking. What's it about this time?”

There was a pause. “Is there a dimension where Elliott and I… didn't have to go through all of this just to be happy?”

“Learned not to ask those questions. Just makes you envious.”

“I know. I just want to know if we've ever been allowed a perfect life anywhere… if it's something that's meant to be—us being happy…”

Renee was quiet for a moment, lost in thoughts of her own. “Do you wanna know what I think?”

“Hm?”

“It's never gonna be easy. You're gonna hit a roadblock eventually. Just gotta get around it. When you do… bet you're gonna have one of those cheesy places in the movies where there's a rainbow, the lighting is perfect, and there's a waterfall. It's just gonna be you two. You're gonna be happy.”

There was a smile on Park’s face now. “Weirdly nice coming from you. Paquette’s made you soft.”

“Keep talking and I'm kicking your ass, Park.”

They shared a laugh together, the skirmisher uncrossing her arms and beginning to move back to the door behind them. 

“Don't forget to give your boyfriend his good morning kiss.”

“Shut it, Blasey. You're supposed to be the less annoying one.”

“I don't recall ever establishing that.”

Park rolled his eyes, following the skirmisher inside. He was tired and missed the warmth of his bed, even if it was accompanied by snores and drool on his hoodie. 


End file.
